Artemis Fowl: Nervous Peace
by Reckless150681
Summary: Artemis Fowl is recovering from the effects of the Atlantis Complex. But action has finally died down, and for the first time since they met Artemis and Holly have nothing to do. What frustrations and emotions will be revealed in these dull moments between adventures? Rated T for romance and mild violence. Set between Books 7 and 8.
1. Chapter 1: Clarity

**CHAPTER 1**

_**CLARITY**_

**Room 16, J. Argon Institute, Haven City, the Lower Elements; Now**

**ARTEMIS** Fowl sat quietly in his room at Dr. Argon's clinic, legs folded up in the lotus position as Butler had once taught him. His unconscious registered the locations and positions of the objects in his room - bed in the center against the wall, flanked by two nightstands, completed with a ridiculously ornate bookshelf filled with psychology textbooks and thriller novels - but he banished any and every thought from his head. His breathing was slow and even, and his mismatched eyes were behind closed lids. To the casual observer, Artemis Fowl was at peace with himself.

But anyone who knew the teenage genius would have been able to spot the slight signs of stress; his knuckles were slightly white, the corners of his mouth dipped just a shade, and a single bead of sweat dripped down from his brow.

Though many were those that knew _of_ the great Artemis Fowl, few knew him personally. Nobody, however, would have been able to figure out what it was that disturbed him so greatly. In truth, neither did he; all Artemis knew was that today, instead of achieving the blissful tranquility usually associated with this type of meditation, he was vaguely aware of colors swirling in between his subconscious and conscious. In the past, such colors would have been unwelcome in these sessions, as they usually accompanied terrible or shameful events in his teenage life. Artemis remembered the gray despair when his mother was afflicted with what seemed like Spelltropy at the time. He remembered the deep, ice-blue horror when realizing that Butler - his loyal, faithful bodyguard - had taken a fatal bullet for him without hesitating. Most of all, however, he remembered the black regret, laced with the deep crimson shame that came with kidnapping Captain Holly Short - now his closest friend.

Suddenly, with these thoughts a low murmur in his subconscious, the shadeless colors grew restless, begging to be recognized. Artemis lost his internal composure, mentally scrabbling to get just a glimpse of these infuriating hues. These wisps of his own consciousness managed to stay just out of reach, tantalizing him and taunting him with his own knowledge - his own emotions.

Absurd, thought Artemis as he struggled to relax, all notions of meditation forgotten. My mind cannot withhold information from me. It is a product of chemical reactions in my brain, resulting in synaptic firings that form a metaphysical and chemical database for me to access. It should not be able to conceal memories or otherwise from me any more than my laptop can conceal files.

Artemis prepared to clear his mind again.

The brain, simply put, is a mass of interconnected neurons, he thought. Following a similar or somewhat similar train of thought to whatever I was thinking about before should trigger the related memory, allowing me to identify these...mental wisps.

Internally, Artemis cringed, knowing full well that in his recent state phrases related to the mind were not to be taken lightly. It had been five months since his descent into Stage Two of the Atlantis Complex, and though he was completely cured he still felt a slight whisper of apprehension every time something related to the number four came up.

Fortunately, he thought, allowing a smirk to arrange itself on his face, I no longer have to deal with that _Orion_ character.

How wrong he turned out to be.

**Incubation room, J. Argon Institute, Haven City, the Lower Elements; Now**

Holly Short looked into the face of her archenemy. She tried to feel hatred - tried to feel anger, but just couldn't manage to sustain such thoughts. She knew that the pixie inside the incubator was a clone - a pathetic, dumb creature that never wished to brought into the world. Even so, the clinic's techies and employees stayed well away from it, as it was the spitting image of Opal Koboi. For this, none of the clinic workers felt comfortable around it, and the clone's room saw an almost negligible amount of activity, with only occasional visits from Holly or a techie.

"I feel terrible for you," whispered Holly, speaking quietly as if not to disturb the clone's sleep. "Your gene donor is Haven's Public Enemy Number One, but that doesn't make you guilty for her crimes." Holly smiled sadly. "You don't have any friends right now. I know it doesn't count for much, but I-I'll be your friend." She almost lost her composure when she thought about how lonely the substitute Opal had been, even if it couldn't technically feel anything.

No, thought Holly, standing up. Even if _she_ couldn't technically feel anything. The first step in becoming her friend is realizing that she is still a pixie, cloned or not, and deserves the same love and respect as everyone else.

Holly wrinkled her nose in disgust. _Everyone, that is, except Opal._

"I don't see why you even bother."

Holly whipped around, a little startled. She didn't even realize she had company. Leaning against the doorway was a gnome, the disdain clear in his eyes even though he tried to keep it from showing on his face. His arms were crossed in front of him, and his slightly curled lip indicated the start of a sneer. Holly recognized him from his arrest some years before the Fowl Manor Siege. In fact, she had arrested him herself. The gnome was smuggling fairies without visas to the surface, and Holly had captured him after a lengthy chase through Haven's back alleys and shady avenues. Eventually she just shot him with her handgun, burning her wrist in the process. It was before the era of the Neutrino 2000 and the old handguns were notorious for overheating and spraying half-molten batteries over the shooter's hands every thousand shots or so if it wasn't properly maintained.

But it wasn't the pains Holly took to arrest the gnome that made her remember his name; nor was it his change from a shady, backwater life to one in Haven's most recognizable psychiatrist's clinic. No, Holly remembered his name simply because it was strange - even by fairy standards.

"Pallix Rinaan," said Holly, voice completely deadpan. "Do you really find it necessary to torment the clone?"

Pallix failed in trying to keep the sneer off his face. His ways may have changed, but he still retained the arrogant, vain personality from his childhood. "Look here, my dear. That clone is a dumb creature. It can't see you. It can't hear you. It won't even realize you were there if you were standing on its head doing an Irish jig while juggling knives."

Holly was one of LEPrecon's most hotheaded elves, a fact that had gotten her in trouble more times than she could count. She tried to keep her temper in check while speaking with Pallix, but it wasn't easy. "_She_ is still a living, breathing pixie. It wasn't her fault that her donor was Opal Koboi!"

Pallix's sneer had grown more pronounced as Holly spoke. "Believe it or not, I don't care that her donor was Koboi. It's still a dumb creature, and you're wasting your time."

Holly was now really ticked off. "No, _Pal_," knowing how much the gnome hated that nickname. "This clone - it - _she_ can still feel things. I know it! I'll show you someday - I'll show you that she isn't the vegetable you think she is!"

Pallix was fuming. "Pal? _Pal_? You call me by _that_ name? I told you - I am nobody's pal! Don't you dare ever -" He stopped mid-sentence, a delighted grin suddenly replacing his sneer. He almost even clapped his hands.

"Nopal!" he shouted, startling Holly once more. "That's it's name! It's got _no pals_!"

Holly opened and closed her mouth several times, trying to find words for the indignation she felt on Nopal's behalf. "That's - that's - that's just downright _mean_!" she managed to splutter. "Nopal has friends. _I'm _her friend." Holly immediately covered her mouth, realizing what she had just said.

Pallix's eyes glinted almost manically. "Her _friend_? You used her name. You agree she has none. You're pathetic, Holly Short, picking on a poor, dumb creature that can't even speak for itself." And with that Pallix gave her a vampire smile that could have given Artemis a run for his money, before stalking out the door.

Holly turned back to the clone, seething over the gnome's attitude. Unfortunately, Pallix had a point. Holly was Nopal's only friend. She rested a hand on the glass above the pixie's forehead, almost crooning to her.

It's not fair, Holly thought. You share nothing with that _monster_, apart from your physical appearances. You don't have the same resources - not the same love, the same memories. You're just a poor soul that-

Holly frowned. Something about that last thought triggered a rather...peculiar memory. She didn't know how to describe it. Not entirely _pleasant_ per se, but not unpleasant either. Holly scratched behind her ears, trying to place the memory.

Then it hit her. She had repeated words she had heard before. "_I have Artemis's memories but not his disposition."_ The words of Orion Fowl, Artemis's alter ego that surfaced in the boy genius's struggle with Atlantis. He had none of Artemis's flaws - he was guiltless, transparent, and a good shot - but he also lacked Artemis's intelligent mind and common sense. In the end, though, Orion was critical in the group's escape from Turnball Root; Artemis allowed himself to be shocked to call forth the alternate personality, defeating Turball's blood rune and evening the playing field.

Now Holly knew why she was so uneasy. Orion had all of Artemis's memories and experiences, but he was free from the guilt that plagued their shared mind. Orion was as naïve and forthcoming as Artemis was devious, so when he proclaimed his (or their…?) love for her, she had shut him out in order to concentrate at the task at hand. At the time, the task at hand was running for their lives, so it was quite understandable why she did not have time for such emotions.

Unfortunately, there were no such tasks at hand. Relocation of the Atlantis refugees was complete, and Holly had just completed the Ritual a week prior. She couldn't even go above ground to pick up Artemis's family, because Angeline was in Haven and Artemis Senior had taken the twins for a week-long beach trip. Her thoughts, therefore, inevitably turned towards Orion...and Artemis.

Holly hugged her knees towards her chest. Truth be told, she did indeed feel an affection towards the Mud Boy. His sarcastic, more-than-slightly narcissistic demeanor hid a spark of dry wit and humor, and she had watched him grow from a monster into a hero. With him she had weathered the Arctic, suffered the smells of a tannery, crushed a rebellion, broke into an unbreakable vault, yelled at him, whispered at him, shot at him, shot for him, traded insults, traded eyes, hated him, _kissed_ him…

Holly had always dismissed the _moment passioné_ in the time stream as a result of teenage hormones, combined with the bond that only formed through shared trauma. Now, however, she wasn't so sure. Artemis cared for people. He no longer lied guiltlessly, and he had put millions of dollars into _THE PROJECT_. He actually _smiled_ now - not his signature vampire smile, but a proper smile, for heaven's sake!

Holly groaned, putting her feet back on the ground and her head in her hands. _Listen to me. A captain in the Lower Elements Police, up for major twice, unable to sort out her own emotions._ Especially _emotions pertaining to a human. A human!_

She _did_ have to know something, though, before it drove her mad; what did Artemis really feel towards her?

**Room 16, J. Argon Institute, Haven City, the Lower Elements; Now**

_There it was again._

It was more distinct this time. Artemis could almost _sense_ the colors. They were rising from his subconscious, almost within a mental arm's reach. They swirled lazily and quickly, violently and peacefully. They were strange, and yet...they were _familiar._ Familiar...and pleasant. What were these colors? What emotion did they accompany? Never before had he experienced something so soothing that affected his ability to meditate.

Artemis smirked, deciding to come out of his meditative state. _When did I become so sentimental? I remember a time when gold was power and visible emotion was deemed as weakness. My time with the fairies has changed me much. My morals have changed, and I have had adventures few others - fairy, human, or otherwise - can even _dream _about. _Artemis smiled - not the vampire smile he was so known for, but a gentle, genuine smile. _O__f course, I now also have friends - people I can truly depend on. People who love me, and people whom I love. Butler, Juliet, Mulch, Foaly, Holly-_

Suddenly, the colors were thrown into sharp contrast. With his last thought, Artemis had removed the barriers preventing him from seeing the hues that his subconscious so obviously held dear.

Though he knew everything was happening in his mind, Artemis felt as speechless as if he were looking down into a lush, green valley. The colors swirling around him were dazzling and exquisite, flowing without inhibition, as a bird in the sky. They glowed with a natural light, and whenever they flowed through him he felt a warmth that came from within. Somewhere, he imagined a fanfare, gloriously adding a soundtrack to his emotional adventure. Mentally he reached out and attempted to touch the colors as they flowed by, and in doing so his brain started to process what he was experiencing. Unlike the harsh colors that accompanied guilt, rage, and sorrow, these hues were soft and warm - _organic_, even. There were shades of brown, green, and red. Brown was streaked with green and green was streaked with brown. Both strips of color were intertwined with each other, and as Artemis tried to bring his consciousness closer, they swung out of his reach. Somewhere - though he knew not where - a sound of tinkling bells registered in his subconscious, as if his own projected images were laughing at him.

For some inexplicable reason, though, Artemis Fowl found this image of unexplained, natural beauty to be completely acceptable, as well as the fact that he was not as deep in the meditative state he was in earlier. Though he understood the hidden workings of the human brain and how experiences and memories affected it, he did not understand what was happening at the moment. However, in a manner so unlike himself, he felt at peace; he allowed this lack of understanding to slide, and decided to enjoy himself.

A deep red-brown rushed toward him, breaking on the open window of his subconscious that represented his face. In it, he was surprised to realize he could smell something - the soft aroma of grass and citrus reached him. It was pleasant and soothing, yet…

Artemis mentally shook his head. Something disturbed him about the smell. He couldn't quite place his finger on it, but the more he tried to focus on it the more it leapt out of reach.

He decided not to dwell on such things for now. During past meditation sessions he had reached a number of achievements; he had slowed his heart rate to below 40 beats per minute, he had processed and accepted his guilt and shame, and he had reached peace with himself and his decisions on many occasions. Never before, however, had he experienced anything like this, and he allowed himself to become encaptured by the flowing colors again.

Time flows erratically and smoothly inside one's head, and Artemis was unsure how much time had passed since the beginning of this sight. He prepared to truly exit his meditative state, dimly aware of a burning sensation in his thighs, when he saw something unexpected that shook him to the core. Among the greens, the reds, and the browns that made up the myriad of colors and shades, there was a small streak of ice blue, chasing a very light brown - in fact, it was almost beige. The blue felt so out of place - so _unnatural_ and clashing with the other colors - yet it completed the images Artemis had experienced.

Of course, this simple streak of color was what had disturbed the human so much.

**Operations Booth, Police Plaza, Haven City, the Lower Elements; Now**

"Come in."

Holly entered Foaly's Ops Booth, giving the centaur a big hug and a carton of carrots before sitting down and wondering how she was going to get everything off her chest. She had had a lot of time to reflect on what she was feeling and how to sort everything out, but she didn't know what to do next.

"So why the long face?" Foaly snickered, knowing fully how annoying he could be and doing nothing to change or dispute that fact. "Obviously you didn't come by just to say hi."

Holly snorted and rolled her eyes at the centaur's terrible joke, but couldn't bring herself to do anything more. She had a lot on her mind and was unsure how to start. Then she sighed to herself. If she couldn't trust Foaly, who _could_ she trust?

Foaly, for his part, was planning on using whatever his friend was about to say for a new website post, but noticed how down she looked. Her shoulders were slumped forward, she was biting her lip, and her eyes seemed slightly glazed. She looked..._defeated_.

"Holly?" he asked, tentatively stepping forward. "Are you alright?"

Holly looked up, wondering if she was seriously about to say what she had been thinking for the last three hours. Once again, she reasoned that Foaly would be a good consultant for the time being. Besides his bug-free, paranoia-fueled Ops Booth that he once could not crack himself, the centaur could recognize a legitimate plea of help and would have the sense not to post such sensitive information to his website - at least, not until the crisis had passed. He was annoying, he was intrusive, and he was very vain, but he cared deeply for his friends, and seeing one of his closest ones in such obvious distress was more than enough to plant a seed of worry in his mind.

"Foaly," Holly began after a long silence, "you remember Orion, right?"

Foaly winced. "Of course I do. How could I not, with his 'noble steed' this and 'princess' that? It was like talking to a medieval squire!"

But to his surprise, Holly simply waved her hand dismissively. "Yes, yes. I know he was annoying, and he was basically useless in Iceland. But that's not it." She sighed again and was contemplating whether to go on. To tell the truth, she was scared with what she was about to say. Oh, she knew Foaly would laugh - that he would be on the ground with his hands on his sides, legs kicking in a gallop while he gasped for breath. She also knew that despite that, Foaly certainly would not post this to his website. No, Holly Short was scared because of the implications that came with these thoughts - and she was uncertain whether they were good or bad.

"Holly- " Foaly began again.

Holly took the plunge. "I think I'm in love with Artemis."


	2. Chapter 2: Principles

**CHAPTER 2**

_**PRINCIPLES**_

**Room 16, J. Argon Institute, Haven City, the Lower Elements; Now**

**ARTEMIS** came out of his meditative state with a shuddering breath. He reflected on what he had experienced. Despite the indescribable beauty he had just experienced in his subconscious mind, he felt exhausted and drained upon returning to the land of the living.

Such a feeling, he thought. It leaves me hollow - as if I had reached transcendence but was pulled back to Earth by an unknown and unyielding force. It is comparable to what infants must feel upon first leaving their mothers' wombs.

Artemis uncrossed his legs and groaned as his thighs protested. He pulled himself up to the bed, lying down and thinking about what he had realized.

_The ice blue...there is no mistaking it. It is the same shade as my right eye. The colors I saw were representations of Holly. Nut brown, auburn, hazel, green…and ice blue._

He felt a familiar warmth at the thought, but was somewhat concerned.

_I was unable to complete my meditation. Somehow, thoughts of Holly prevented me from attaining the clarity of mind desired - more so than thoughts of guilt or shame._

He felt another feeling - shockingly unfamiliar this time. It was very warm, much like how he felt upon hugging his mother after Holly had cured her depression and dementia; yet it was cold, like an icy trickle running down his spine. He felt apprehension - the uncertainty that came before the journey into the unknown, yet a confident familiarity that gave him the hope and courage to go on.

Artemis sat up and pinched the bridge of his nose.

_Perhaps I should consult Butler about this._

Though Domovoi Butler was originally hired to protect the life of Artemis Fowl the Second, the fairy-related adventures he and his young charge have gone through had brought them closer together. Butler no longer called Artemis "sir", instead referring to him by name and freely teasing him without fear of repercussions. For Artemis's part, he came to see Butler as a friend and father figure, filled with decades of experience - and not just with how to kill an enemy that got too close for comfort. It was for this reason that Artemis decided to seek his advice. Despite Artemis's obvious superior mental capabilities, the Fowls prior to Artemis Senior's return were a cold, criminally active family. Anything more than simple professionalism was frowned upon, and emotional outbursts were seen as a display of weakness. Therefore, Artemis II felt uncertain when it came to more complex emotions.

_Such as the one now!_ he thought crossly. _What is this confounding sensation? Three sets of conflicting feelings, each with other, smaller thoughts hidden below the surface. I feel afraid, yet exhilarated. I feel giddy, yet it is twinged with doubt. All these thoughts and more…_

_Whatever could they mean?_

**Operations Booth, Police Plaza, Haven City, the Lower Elements; Now**

There was silence as Foaly - Haven's best and brightest mind - took all of ten seconds to process what his best friend had just said. Then came the laughing.

Holly spent the dreadful silence growing redder by the second, and she stared at the floor with a meek smile. Now that it was out in the open, it was easier to accept. In all honesty, she was surprised she hadn't fallen for Artemis sooner. _Of course, though_, she thought with a little annoyance, as Foaly's laughs turned into long, drawn-out neighs, _it doesn't make it any easier to bear this._

Foaly was on the ground with his hands on his side, legs kicking in a gallop while he gasped for breath.

"Oh, Holly- " _cough_ " -you have got- " _snort_ " -to be kidding me!" Foaly wheezed, as he lay twitching and shaking on the ground. "The Mud Boy? _The _Mud Boy? No wa-a-!" Foaly collapsed in a heap of laughter again.

Normally Holly would have glared daggers at him, but today she just wasn't in the mood. She continued to stare at her spot on the floor.

My, that really is a lovely shade of red, thought Holly as she looked at her reflection in the floor's polished tiles, and then: _I could have given Julius a run for his money_.

Foaly gradually stopped laughing, all four knees shaking as he stood up. He gave a cough, then a wheeze, and turned back to Holly, still grinning. The grin disappeared when he realized his friend _wasn't_ giving him a death stare; that's when it really hit him.

"You weren't kidding." It wasn't a question; it was a statement of fact. "You're in love with the Mud Boy."

"Yes," said Holly in a small voice, a further indication of how serious she was. Foaly knew that a Holly that was playing around would have become indignant and cheeky, trading insults with him blow for blow. This quiet, reserved, and almost submissive Holly was more than a little disturbing.

Disturbing or not, though, Holly was his friend, and he was determined to help her pull through.

"Alright, then. So what seems to be the problem? You seem fairly certain about how you feel." Foaly kept his sense of humor in check, almost banishing it completely. Now was a time to help Holly - only once in recent history had there been a human/fairy relationship, and it literally ended in a bang. Besides, Artemis and Holly didn't exactly _meet_; he had Butler shoot her with a tranquilizing dart.

"It's not about how _I_ feel, Foaly. If that was it, I wouldn't have had to come down here, now would I?" Holly tried to smirk at him, but really just didn't feel like it. Instead, she just sighed and covered her face with her hands. "Truth be told, I'm terrified."

Foaly raised an eyebrow, which was as close to an outburst as he dared with Holly in this fragile state. He knew she was strong and brave - she was the first successful female Recon officer in the LEP, after all - and he knew she would stand up for her friends without a second thought. It was this quality, in fact, that made Julius Root so infinitely proud of her. Foaly had never known Holly to be truly terrified. Not during the Fowl Manor Siege, not when accused of murdering the Commander, and not when attempting to alert Atlantis of the incoming probe. Holly Short always stood her ground, no matter what the consequences.

So seeing this more vulnerable side of her was distressing for the centaur, and in all honesty he had no idea what to do. In the end, he rather lamely repeated, "So what seems to be the problem?"

Holly looked up and Foaly was alarmed to see misting in her eyes, especially since nobody was dying and the city had been crisis-free for the last five months. "I don't know how to tell him."

Foaly nodded and beckoned for her to go on. In this state, he knew it was best for her to let everything out.

Holly obliged. Now that she had opened up a bit, the floodgates flew open and she poured out all her heart to Foaly. She spoke of how Artemis had saved her life in Limbo, of how they kept in touch through the fairy communicator, and how close they became in the past before Artemis ruined it.

"But," said Holly, shrugging and smiling a little ruefully, "now I honestly don't care. If I had the chance to save my own mother, I would have done the same."

She went silent at that, remembering the fear and horror she felt in the gorilla cage. She remembered the relief when Artemis opened his eyes, and the way her heart fluttered when she kissed him.

"Holly?" Holly started a bit, forgetting where she was for a moment. "Do you want to go on?"

"Yes. Ye-yeah. Um...you know how Orion said he had all of Artemis's memories but not his disposition?"

Foaly nodded, trying not to interject until she was finished.

She shut her eyes as she recalled a specific moment. "Well, the last time I spoke to him, I said, 'Close your eyes if you love me', and he obeyed me immediately. And-and I know they had the same memories and the same experiences, but…"

"But _what_, Holly?" Foaly was too interested - uncomfortably so. He had unconsciously leaned forward, waiting for what came next.

Holly opened her eyes in anguish. "D'arvit, Foaly, Artemis and Orion had the same memories, and Orion was definitely in love with me, but I don't know if Artemis feels the same way!" She put her head in her hands and started trembling.

Foaly clopped forward and awkwardly rested an arm on Holly's shoulders, unsure how to start. Besides the obvious species and age differences, how does one deal with two personalities of the same person? Obviously both personalities share the same brain - and therefore the same memories and experiences, but the complete change from Artemis to Orion clearly demonstrated the number of facets that _weren't_ shared.

"Holly," began Foaly gently. "I don't have all the answers. I wasn't even the one that asked Caballine on our first date - my security measures simply malfunctioned and she asked _me_ out after the LEP had held her for three hours." Foaly withdrew his arm at this point and turned to face Holly.

"Now look. I know you're in a bit of a pickle. In fact, you've been basically stuffed in a pickle jar, locked in a barrel, and set afloat in the Atlantic." Foaly noted that Holly didn't even look up at his terrible analogy, but kept going. "Artemis won't initiate anything - in fact, knowing him and his family's history, if he feels affection towards you he probably won't even recognize it; it may be too much for him to grasp."

At this, Holly began shaking almost uncontrollably.

"No! Holly!" Foaly grasped onto her shoulders firmly. "Look at me! It'll be alright. Listen to what I have to say." He released her when he saw she had calmed down sufficiently.

"Alright. Now getting Fowl to admit he has some 'human imperfections' will be downright impossible, but what if we were to get Butler in on this?"

**Exercise gym, J. Argon Institute, Haven City, the Lower Elements; Now**

"Uh-huh. Right. Sure. Oh. Oh _really_?"

Butler's eyes shot up at his caller's last statement. He was in Dr. Argon's gym designed for what the doctor called _advanced physical therapy_ - but was really just fancy wording for "working out" - trying to work up a sweat before he turned in for the night - or rather, what passed for night underground. In practicality, he could have gone back to Fowl Manor, where the barbells actually extended past the length of his shoulders, but he preferred to be as close to his principal as possible. As a result, he was lifting a fairy-sized barbell in each hand, and was in the middle of some bicep curls when his phone had rung.

The caller had delivered some extraordinary information - information that was a mild surprise, but actually somewhat expected. And now he was asking Butler for assistance - assistance Butler was more than willing to provide.

"Of course. What do you want me to…? Ah, I see. Well, it's simple enough. And it's about damn time."

At this point, Butler heard Artemis's loafered footsteps, and decided it was to end the call.

"Look, I'd like to help more right now, but my...ah..._principles_ are currently getting in the way. Call me later." With that, Butler quickly returned to his curls, just as Artemis walked through the door.

"Butler, can I ask you something?"

Butler raised an eyebrow. His charge seemed..._distracted_. He became worried, wondering if Atlantis was relapsing. Then he reconsidered. Yes, Artemis seemed distracted, but he wasn't delusional - not like how Holly had described his behavior moments before Foaly's space probe crashed into Iceland. Butler saw the clarity in Artemis's eyes - a sure sign of his grasp on reality - and relaxed internally.

"Of course, Artemis. What's on your mind?"

Artemis fingered his chin with his left hand, forming an L underneath his bottom lip. "To be honest, I'm not entirely certain myself," he began. "I was utilizing one of the Hindu yoga forms, attempting to process and compartmentalize my most recent endeavors in Iceland. However, I was prevented from reaching the level of clarity I desired by swirling colors."

Butler knew what Artemis meant. The first time this had happened - a year after the Fowl Manor Siege - Artemis had experienced black and red, later identified as regret and shame after witnessing Holly and Commander Root selflessly assisting in rescuing Artemis Senior from the Russian Mafiya. Butler also knew, however, that this time was different; if Artemis had come to him for assistance, then there was a new variable in the environment - a "kink", as Butler liked to call it.

Artemis was continuing his experience. "I expended a greater amount of energy identifying these colors than normal. They seemed...familiar somehow, yet strange and uncharted. I eventually reached a revelation; the colors were my subconscious's representation of Holly."

Butler's eyebrow went up again. He felt a familiar softening of his heart, one that he had not felt since finishing _The Notebook_ nearly twenty years ago. This time, however, the story felt closer to home - was his charge finally in love?

Artemis's next statement all but confirmed it. "I felt...an unfamiliar sensation. Warmth...and cold...apprehension...and confidence...fear...and elation."

Butler almost smiled, but caught himself. If he adopted a knowing - or even a teasing - air, Artemis might become intimidated - or worse, discouraged.

The teenage genius made a very intricate but helpless hand movement. "Butler, what is this feeling? Every time I try to focus on it, my heart rate increases and my thought processes slow! Is it another sort of mental disease?" He sounded very irritated.

Butler's other eyebrow went up. Artemis Fowl II, the latest generation in a family of criminal masterminds, writer of multiple papers under the pseudonym Dr. F. Roy Dean Schlippe - _psychology _papers, for heaven's sake - was unable to identify _this_ feeling? This basic, intrinsic feeling? Butler knew immediately what it was, of course, having roughly half a century of lifetime experiences, but he found it hard to believe that a teenage boy - though reserved in his emotions - was unable to realize it.

Of course, he couldn't just proclaim, "Artemis, my boy, you are in _love_!" That would scare him into denial, possibly turn him even colder than he was now. Instead, he decided to take a slightly less direct approach.

"Artemis," Butler began, "think hard about Madame Fowl - your mother. What does she mean to you? What do you feel when you think about her?"

Artemis frowned. "Well, I love her, of course, despite her constant haranguing about my 'sense of fashion', or lack thereof, and I respect her for the transformations she has made in Father and myself."

"What do you feel?" repeated Butler.

Artemis's frown deepened slightly. "A...warmth. It...reminds me of Christmas in recent years, where formalities are all but forgotten and smiles are all but permanent."

Butler nodded slowly. "What about the twins - how do you feel about them?"

Artemis let out a low chuckle. "Beckett is who I could have been, had my father's transformation been sooner. He is carefree, silly, and naïve. In Myles, I see myself - fascinated by science and inherently acerbic. Complete polar opposites, but I would have it no other way."

This went on for a while, with Butler asking about Minerva, Artemis Senior, Julius Root, Mulch, Foaly, and Juliet, among others. Butler was paying special attention to Artemis's responses regarding the females, as he would be using them as a background - not unlike a "control" trial in a scientific experiment.

"And what about Holly?"

_There! A hesitation!_

It was almost imperceptible - barely a quarter of a second - but Butler had served Artemis for over a decade and a half now, and what would be unnoticeable to others was a major indicator for him. With this in mind, he listened intently to Artemis's response.

"I have the deepest respect for her. Not only has she weathered with me whatever life has thrown at the two of us, but she has also healed our band of brigands more times than I can count, and forgiven me for the two worst things I could have done to her. She, along with Mother, transformed my life. I owe my life to her in more ways than one."

Externally, Butler seemed to be listening, but internally he was giving his charge's response a thorough analysis.

_There is a slight tenderness in the way he describes the Captain's feats. It is certainly a softer tone than when he talked about the others - almost fond, even. And there! A slight upwards twitch in the mouth, and a slight glazing in the eyes. But there is one more thing - one piece of evidence to determine whether it is true._

"Artemis," said the manservant.

"What do you feel when you think of Captain Short?"


	3. Chapter 3: Uncertainty

**CHAPTER 3**

_**UNCERTAINTY**_

**Apartment 819, Haven Housing, Southeastern Residential District, Haven City, the Lower Elements; Now**

**HOLLY** lay in bed, eyes focused on that tear in the wallpaper she never bothered to fix. She had a lot on her mind. Well, more accurately, she only had one thing on her mind, but she was thinking about it a lot.

"_Artemis…._"

She closed her eyes tight, trying to shut out everything about him. When had she become so attached to him? She was an elf; he was a human. She was a soldier; he was a boy. She was a victim; he was an extortionist. Somehow, in the five years they had known each other, the grudging respect between them had grown into friendship, then into something more complicated.

Holly rolled over and groaned. _Why did I have to kiss him?_ She knew that her emotions were exaggerated as a result of the time stream, and knew her hormone levels had risen accordingly, but _why_ did she have to kiss him? It was as if the inflated feelings she felt in the past had followed her to the present, and now that she had opened herself up to Artemis she found it extremely hard to go back.

Holly rolled over again and sighed, begging for sleep to come. Thankfully, she was off duty for the week, but Holly Short was not a morning person and preferred sleeping in as long as possible when she could.

_Why can't I fall asleep?_ she thought.

And then it hit her. _Because I'm still scared._

Earlier, when she told Foaly about her fears of friendship versus love, she felt an enormous weight lift from her shoulders. To make things better, Foaly had devised a plan to figure out what Artemis felt. It was a simple plan, but simple plans have less to go wrong - although the centaur _did_ feel it necessary to include Butler.

Holly's eyebrows had shot up at this. "_Butler? Really?"_

_Foaly rubbed his hands together, his brain already working on a plan. "I love a good plot, and I happen to know Butler is a fan of romance stories. If you're willing to put up with some carefully planned ribbing, I think I have an idea."_

_Holly thought about it. _How much does Artemis really mean to me? _And then: _Well...I did come to Foaly out of desperation...and I can't get him off my mind…

_She drew a breath and gave her answer._

"_Sure."_

"_That's the spirit!" Foaly clapped her on the shoulder. "Alright, here's what we're going to do. We'll somehow get Dr. Argon to release Artemis for a day - say he needs a break from all the monotony that is psychologic treatment. You have the next week off, so we've got a bit of buffer time. We'll arrange a date for you two - alright! A day out!" Foaly amended, seeing Holly's face flush a deep red. "Then you talk to Artemis, and Butler acts as mediator. If you can steer the conversation towards a certain point, then maybe you'll get the answers you want!"_

_Holly's eyebrows had shot up again. The unexpectedness of this plan allowed Holly to regain some of her wit. "I come down here, with a complicated love problem that would have made Chix Verbil asexual, and the best your pony brain can give me is to _talk _to him? Sometimes I wonder why we even keep you around."_

_The centaur grinned ruefully. When Holly put it that way, it _did _seem really stupid. "Just hear me out. You see, while you are undoubtedly Artemis's closest friend - a fact that would make him more open towards you - Butler knows him best. He also can't resist a good romance - especially between two of _his_ closest friends - so he'll be on your side. He'll be looking for Artemis's physical hints while you try to get as much out of him as you can."_

_Holly's eyebrows creased with worry. "But what if something goes wrong? What if Butler can't find anything? What if I mess up our friendship? What if...what if I misjudged and he doesn't feel anything?"_

_Foaly rested a hand on her arm._

"_Holly," he said, looking her in the eye. "Do you trust me?"_

_She nodded._

"_Do you trust Butler?_

_Another nod._

"_Do you trust yourself?_

_She hesitated, but nodded again._

_Foaly smiled. "You'll be fine. Your friends will have your back. I'll give Butler a call tonight, and I'll let you know by tomorrow evening what we have planned out." He gave her a hug, knowing how much she needed one. "Artemis Fowl's expressions rarely go past scientific lectures and the occasional snarky comment, but I have a feeling he will be open to another heart."_

_Holly smiled, the first true smile she gave since entering Foaly's Ops Booth. "Thanks, Foaly. I'll do my best to relax."_

Except she wasn't relaxed. She was scared. Not of what Fowl _wouldn't_ say - oh, no. She was prepared if he felt nothing, as hard as it would be on her. No, she was scared for what might happen if he felt the same way. What then? There were three major barriers that would hinder the relationship: location, species, and age. If Artemis accepted her, she knew her life would become twice as hard, having to balance her job with him. Besides, the Council had had her neck on the chopping block half a dozen times now, and if she revealed that she was dating a human - and not just any human; the human that had successfully stolen _gold_ from the People - they would have her acorns for sure.

She shivered at the thought of this. If he only saw her as a friend, she'd feel a loss but her career - and the rest of her life - would be secure. But if he accepted her - if he loved her like she loved him - then she would find fulfillment, but would live every waking day in fear of discovery and repercussion.

Eventually, after hours of tossing and turning, Holly settled into a troubled sleep, unsure of which outcome she preferred, with one thought swirling in her mind:

_Is he worth it?_

**Exercise gym, J. Argon Institute, Haven City, the Lower Elements; Now**

"Artemis", said the manservant. "What do you feel when you think of Captain Short?"

When he thought about it, Artemis felt - despite the physical impossibility - a flutter in his heart. It was accompanied by the very feeling he had described to Butler, complete with contradictory emotions.

A sudden, uneasy realization struck him. He was aware that his reaction towards the mention of Holly's name was distinctly different from his reaction towards the other females in Butler's questions. He knew he possessed an affection towards the elf - despite their polar personalities and different species - but he had been unaware of what extent this affection extended to.

Butler had noticed the hesitation immediately. He simply nodded and before Artemis could respond said, "I see." _He _does _love her! He simply doesn't realize it yet. _And then: _Wow, this is so much better than _The Notebook_._

Artemis, for his part, flushed slightly, having come to a similar conclusion, but unsure of what it meant. _To think_, he thought. _The great Artemis Fowl the Second, foiled by love. Five years ago such thoughts were frowned upon in the Fowl household - respected, yes, and recognized for their importance and prominence, yes, but the notions of petty love were dismissed as indications of immaturity and naiveté._

He pinched the bridge of his nose and rubbed his eyes. "I have come to a most..._intriguing_ conclusion. Undoubtedly you have come to the same conclusion, seeing as you are attempting to nod sagely in reaction to my words. However, I ask that you reserve all judgement until I can sort this matter out for myself. If what I possess what I believe I possess, then I would like to address all doubts I may have about myself to ensure I do not give Hol - er, to…ensure I do not have doubts about myself."

Artemis flushed again. _I would like to address all doubts I may have about myself to ensure I do not have doubts about myself? Really?_

Evidently Butler had noticed the lame reasoning, for he had raised an eyebrow, but decided to let it slide, allowing the boy to hastily turn on his heel and exit the room. He wondered what this meant for Foaly's plan - now that he was almost certain Artemis reciprocated Holly's feelings. He could tell Foaly, who could pass the news on to Holly; surely she'd be thrilled! Butler nearly smiled at the thought. He had little time or room for love in his life at the moment, but he could see why Artemis was so drawn to Holly. For one, she was very attractive, with flawless brown skin, slim figure, and auburn hair (which she had let grow into a pageboy); for two, she completed Artemis, bringing warmth to where Artemis felt cold and able to keep up with him when trading insults; and for three, they were bonded by trauma, having gone through more adventures in the span of three years than most people could imagine in three _lifetimes_.

In the end, though, Butler decided to wait. If he was wrong in interpreting his charge's feelings, and if he simply ran on his partially incomplete impression, accelerating Foaly's plan might lead to catastrophic results. Artemis could determine them to mean something else, and suddenly Holly would be left in an awkward situation, with irrevocable words having been said. Artemis could feel uncomfortable around Holly (which had never been a pleasant experience in the past), distancing them. Or, in a somewhat extreme case, Artemis might close up completely, disturbed by his dependence and feeling of incompletion brought on by someone close. No, the best thing to do would be to wait.

In the coming days, more than one person would be grateful he did.


	4. Chapter 4: Unprofessional

**CHAPTER 4**

_**UNPROFESSIONAL**_

**Operations Booth, Police Plaza, Haven City, the Lower Elements; Now**

**HOLLY** burst into the room on the day she was to meet Artemis and Butler, hair disheveled and heart pounding. "Foaly," she gasped. "Foaly, abort. Abort abort abort abort."

Foaly clopped over, alarmed by her appearance and what she said. "What? Why? What happened?"

Holly took several deep breaths before continuing, bringing her heart rate to a more reasonable level. "I-I can't do it. I've been up two nights thinking about it. If he accepts me, the Council might not; if he doesn't accept me, I'd live with a hole in my heart." She put her head in her hands.

Foaly put a hand on her shoulder, saddened to see his friend so distressed. "I know. You're between the lesser of two evils. I was hoping you'd be able to sort it out by the time we put this plan into action, but I know how hard it must be."

He consulted his watch, a rather ancient contraption by fairy standards. "There's still about an hour before you're set to meet them. If we call Butler now, he'll have time to put together an alternate plan. Mind you," he said, sardonic grin lighting up his features, "he won't be pleased."

Holly, with her heart feeling slightly lighter than it had the past three days, gave a weary smile.

"That's alright. I can live with that."

Foaly gave her shoulder a squeeze. "Let's give Butler a call, and send you home for the rest of the day."

Holly sighed, rubbing her suddenly-aching eyes. Up until now he hadn't realized just how much pressure she had been under. _Maybe_, she thought, _it's better this way. Maybe it's better if I never know how Artemis feels._

She yawned, stretching her arms behind her head.

_It'd be great just to sleep all day - a day without Mud Men and adventure._

**Room 42, J. Argon Institute, Haven City, the Lower Elements; Now**

Not for the first time (and not for the last time), Butler was glad that Dr. Jerbal Argon was vain and had a taste for the grandiose. Though fairies averaged a meter in height, most rooms in the clinic were almost triple that. Of course, with Butler being almost 7 feet tall, this meant he couldn't stretch while standing up, but at least he could stand without cramping his neck.

On this particular day, Butler was sitting on one of the four beds (Dr. Argon had to bring in three extras to accommodate for the manservant's bulk), his massive spatula-like hands apparently clumsily tinkering with the delicate components of his cellphone. It certainly would have been a sight to laugh at, if Butler were the type of person to laugh at. Of course, such a sight would have been a façade - an illusion, if you will. Trained at Madam Ko's Academy, Butler was one of the world's greatest marksmen. This meant, of course, he had extremely steady hands. He was currently putting those hands to use by attempting to insert a new component - one that would boost his signal underground. Artemis's phone was already capable of sending and receiving calls and text messages from anywhere on and under the world, but Butler had yet to make such an upgrade.

Almost there now, he thought. I just need to connect this...to here...and…

_Click._

If Butler were any other man, he would have shouted, "_Yes!_" and jumped for joy. As it was, of course, Butler was _not_ any other man, and simply nodded once in satisfaction.

Excellent, he thought. Now to just...d'arvit, is that the time?

The glowing characters on the wall-mounted clock glared out of him, as if reminding him of his appointment. Of course, they were in Gnommish, but Butler was one of three humans who could read such a language.

Now he cursed himself for his carelessness.

It must be these unique circumstances, he thought. The lack of action has relaxed me, and the artificial lights taking place of the sun are playing havoc with my internal clock.

Quickly but surely, Butler replaced the components of his phone.

_Omnitool, check. Fairy antenna, check. Ballistic case, check. Alright, that's everything._

He quickly pocketed the phone, put on a new tie, and hurried out the door. In his haste, though, he forgot one thing - a very important thing that he had left on the nightstand.

**Operations Booth, Police Plaza, Haven City, the Lower Elements; Now**

"Why isn't he picking up?"

Foaly frowned. This was an unusual breach of etiquette for the blue diamond bodyguard. The Butler he knew was lethal, loyal, but above all else, professional. With the previously agreed meeting time now only half an hour away, Foaly knew that the chances for coming up with a diversionary plan were becoming slimmer and slimmer.

In the meantime, Holly's breathing had sped up again, as she realized she had to go meet the humans, lest Artemis become suspicious of her intentions - or worse, insulted by her lack of punctuality.

She groaned. "The _one_ time..."

Foaly chewed on his bottom lip. "What do you want to do?"

Holly sighed. "Not much I _can_ do, is there? I'll have to go meet them now."

Foaly nodded sympathetically, then, in an effort to cheer her up, said, "Well, if it makes you feel any better, I'll wait until I post this to my website."

_Aha!_ That last remark enticed a sarcastic smile and a rolling of the eyes out of the female captain. "Thanks, Foaly. Really appreciate it. Maybe I'll wait until I come after your hairy behind this time."

Foaly's grin actually grew a few molars, and he felt a small glow of pleasure. Seeing Holly in so much duress was heartbreaking, and he was glad that his closest friend still found the dry humor in everything.

Holly rubbed her brow, trying to fight off the effects of two nights of insomnia.

"Well," she said, trying to sound more upbeat than she really was, "wouldn't want to keep those two waiting. You know how they are - if I'm a second late Arty - Artemis - will lecture me about the essence of appointments and why they're so important." Her voice caught as she said Artemis's nickname. It felt so _right_, saying it, but she-

_No._

Holly closed her eyes, briefly, trying to clear her head.

_You don't want anything to happen_, she said to herself. _You _know _Artemis. He's a friend. He's saved you a few times, you've saved him a few times. Don't worry. You'll be fine. Just...don't think about anything. Nothing will happen._

But despite everything, Holly still felt tears spring up, unbidden. She shook her head angrily.

_Snap out of it! You are Captain Short of the LEP. You are a pioneer for females. You were handpicked by Julius Root. You _cannot _dissolve at the thought of a stupid Mud Man!_

She opened her eyes, an idea suddenly clear. Foaly, in a rare move of tact, was standing by his computers, focusing a little too intently on his monitors. She knew he was unsure whether to intervene and help.

But that was alright. She was ready. She knew she wouldn't be completely at ease for a while, but she had an idea - an idea that might get her out of this mess, and keep relations between her and the humans at the same level it was now.

"Hey, Foaly," she called, excitement and determination seeping into her voice. "Can you do me a favor?"

Foaly knew that tone. It was the tone she used when she was going to do something stupid. He sighed inwardly. He probably wasn't going to like it. He turned around slowly.

"Yes, Holly?" He listened to what Holly had to offer.

He didn't like it.

**The Boulevard of Kings, Haven City, the Lower Elements; Now**

_Damn it. Damn it. Damn it, damn it, damn it._

Internally, Butler fumed. The battery? He forgot his phone's _battery_? He couldn't believe himself. He once brought three rifles to a stakeout, just in case the first two malfunctioned and now - and _now_, he forget his phone's _battery_?

_Calm down_, he chastised himself. _You and Foaly have been planning this for two days. Koboi is in prison, the B'wa Kell are disbanded, and Turnball Root is dead. _Nothing _can go wrong._

"Butler, explain to me again: _why_ are we here?"

Artemis looks very ill at ease, thought Butler idly.

"We are here because we - Holly and I - believe Dr. Argon to be a vain, paranoid nuthead who is keeping you cooped up partially - or mainly, I'm not sure which - to generate interest and revenue for his clinic."

Artemis smirked at that in spite of himself.

Butler continued his reasoning. "So we decided that the best thing for you at the moment is to take a break - to explore the city. I know exploring really isn't your type, but Holly's a little anxious to see you." Butler regretted his poor choice of words immediately.

Artemis had gone a little red at that, smirk disappearing faster than a steak down Mulch's gullet. He hastily cleared his throat several times before replying.

"Ah...yes. I certainly agree with your evaluation of Dr. Argon. Though he insists I require more work and medication, I can say in all certainty that I have been cured of the Atlantis Complex by week eighteen of my treatment."

And then, quite abruptly, he said, "Very well, let us look for Holly."

Artemis tried to still his fluttering heart. He was almost certain now - he was in love with Holly.

_But how to reveal myself?_ he pondered. _I excel in the _logical _aspect of thinking - action and reaction, cause and effect. This...abstract area of emotion is not my forte._

He had spent the entirety of the night two days prior meditating on his current issue, noting how easily the blankness came to him when he had accepted what his heart was telling him.

_What my heart was telling me? Really? I sound like that fool Orion._

But not even Artemis Fowl, criminal mastermind, boy genius, and savior of two worlds could triumph the yearnings of the heart. They were unconscious, involuntary emotions, brought out even in the hardest of people. Artemis, in the middle of his teenage years with hormones running amok, could not best them any better than anyone else.

"Is she late?"

Artemis glanced up at Butler, who was attempting to find a public clock, since his watch was ripped off during the mass _mesmer_ incident in Mexico, and his phone was as useful as a brick in its current state. Artemis consisted his own watch.

"No, we are somewhat early. However, feel free to declare her late in five minutes."

Privately, Artemis was glad for the extra time to think. It allowed him extra time to determine his next move - what to do about Holly. He decided to close his eyes for now, and allow the memories of that night to spring up. He was meeting his best friend in five minutes, and he had to know how to act.

**Room 16, J. Argon Institute, Haven City, the Lower Elements; 2 days ago**

Artemis tore a piece of paper off the journal Dr. Argon had given him, writing a request for silence in Gnommish and English. It was probably redundant, seeing as it was midnight and everyone would be asleep anyway, but there was the chance that Butler or Dr. Argon would check up on him. He couldn't find any tape, so he simply put the note in the hallway, right in front of his door.

Now was certainly a time for meditation. There was much to think about, and he decided to utilize one technique he developed himself. It was fairly complex in concept, and required a knowledge of the human brain, fundamental frequency, and perfect pitch. Once the process started, it could not be stopped until whatever answers Artemis were looking for were found. If he were to describe what happened, he would say "I literally talked to myself." Any listener would dismiss such a notion as crazy, but in a rare twist of bizarreness it was true.

Artemis ran the steps through his head once.

_My brain is wired for G2, sharp 13.5 cents. I will also need to provide the fourth overtone at the same time. If done correctly, the combination of these two overtones will send my brain into a deep sleep state, yet I will retain many upper levels of thinking._

He remembered the last time he used this technique, and the thought of it brought a somewhat rueful smile.

_I last used it for the Spiro venture. My, how I have changed in the years since._

Artemis allowed his smile to disappear, straightening his back in the process. _But no more distractions. I need to understand myself - to understand what my subconscious and unconscious are telling me._

With that, he took a deep breath, and hummed a perfect G, sharp by 13.5 cents. Ten seconds passed without incident, and Artemis had begun wondering if his brain's natural frequency had changed in the last few years, when the world went black and all sound disappeared.

Artemis opened his eyes. He was no longer in his room at the J. Argon Institute. In fact, had he not expected what was coming, he would be hard-pressed to explain where exactly he was.

For Artemis was literally entrapped in his own mind. Surrounding him was a black void, where memories were seen as disembodied replays and every thought visualized. Artemis was slightly embarrassed - but only mildly surprised - to see Holly in a lot of the floating frames.

He was sitting down on an inexplicably solid part of the black void, but he stood up and approached the figure in front of him.

"Simetra."

"Artemis."

"I require your assistance."

"I know. I am your subconscious, after all."

Simetra gave a vampire smile, beckoning the image of the boy genius over. He looked identical to Artemis, apart from his lack of definition. Simetra's entire image was cloudy and indiscernible, but it was possible to make out a pair of mismatched eyes and raven-black hair from time to time.

Artemis and Simetra sat opposite each other.

Artemis got straight to the point. "I need to know what I feel about Holly."

Simetra frowned. "Is that not clear already? You feel an enormous affection towards her because of her loyalty and her willingness to put others in front of herself."

Artemis waved his hand dismissively. "I know that. I need to know to what extent this affection extends."

This brought out a smirk. "You know. You are simply in denial."

Artemis gaped for a full ten seconds, then replied, "Preposterous. I cannot be in love with Holly Short."

Simetra's smirk turned into a grin not unlike the one Artemis had given many times before. "As I said; denial. You were able to hide such feelings before because of the pressures and stress brought on by your various adventures - the Eleven Wonders, Hybras, whatever. Even when not engaging in such excitement, you were busy pouring your energy and resources into your Ice Cube, not bothering to take the time to think about Captain Short."

Simetra leaned forward. "Then, five months ago, you reached Stage Two of the Atlantis Complex. Your other personality, Orion - who, by the way, is around here somewhere, as he is also part of your subconscious. He generally stays close to the memories of the romance novels you have read and written. Anyway, he revealed what you - the conscious mind - had been harboring for so long. In addition, these months have been fraught with nothing but treatments and medications - and without anything to distract you, you became unable to defer these emotions any longer."

Artemis had spent the entirety of Simetra's argument in stoic silence. He knew everything about it was true - Simetra and Artemis shared the same body (and the same mind), after all - but he was unsure what to do next.

"Nothing."

Another thing about this type of meditation. Thoughts require brains in order to be thoughts, but as Artemis was already locked inside his own mind anything he thought was projected into the void. He still was not quite used to that.

Artemis cocked his head, puzzled. "What?"

"Do nothing. We both know you are not the loving, cuddly type. You are a logical mastermind, with no time for the pettiness that is emotion. A breach or an anomaly in your behavior now would be sure to raise suspicion."

"So I am to wait and see."

Simetra snapped his wispy fingers and pointed at Artemis. "Precisely. There is a close to certain chance that Captain Short feels a similar - if not stronger - affection towards you. However, she has more at stake than you."

Artemis nodded slowly. "Her job and her reputation."

"Yes. Judging by your observations of Captain Short and my own calculations and analyses, she will certainly attempt to act on her emotions, but I cannot determine whether she will follow through."

Artemis shook his head. "It doesn't matter. I have what I came for. Thank you."

Simetra stood up. "My pleasure. Remember - wait for Holly to make the first move."

Artemis nodded. "I know." Behind him, two elliptical windows slowly opened - his body's vision. He stood up to go, and in a show of grace not present in his physical body, reentered the real world.

**The Boulevard of Kings, Haven City, the Lower Elements; Now**

Artemis opened his eyes. Barely a minute had passed since he began processing his memories. He felt an uncharacteristic pit of anxiety in his stomach. He knew he was not to act - and that there was a good chance that Holly would back out of showing anything - but the realization and acceptance of his love for her was almost overwhelming. He knew - even if Holly didn't - that they had feelings for each other, but he also knew that his actions could save or damn her - and that kind of knowledge is very stressful. He was seriously considering confessing to her if only to release that stress, when a voice came from down the street.

"Arty! Butler! Over here!"


	5. Chapter 5: Normality

**CHAPTER 5**

_**NORMALITY**_

**The Boulevard of Kings, Haven City, the Lower Elements; Now**

Holly's heart jumped at the sight of Artemis. The last time she had seen him, he was still gripped by Atlantis - counting his words, plagued by OCD, and not trusting anyone. It had broken her heart to see him that way, taken hostage by his own mind.

The Artemis in front of her now was the Artemis of old, with head held high and suit smoothed out. His hair - though longer than he usually kept it - had been neatly combed, parted on one side, and he had the self-confident air so associated with him. He looked completely cured, though according to Wiccapedia most people only shook off the effects of Atlantis after years of therapy. Then again, Artemis Fowl was not most people.

Holly waved at the humans. "Arty! Butler! Over here!"

She ran up to them, grinning wide. She hugged Butler around his middle, arms barely reaching his sides. She then turned to Artemis and, squelching the butterflies in her stomach, pulled him into an embrace too. She noticed him go slightly red before returning the hug, but he did so tightly.

Pulling away, she said, "It's good to see you back on your feet! You free from the fours yet?"

Artemis grimaced slightly. "I am, and I have been since week eighteen. I do not understand why Dr. Argon deems it necessary to keep me cooped up in his clinic."

Holly nodded sympathetically. "I don't think it's all just to boost his reputation. Most people take _years_ to shake off Atlantis - he's probably unsure whether you're actually cured."

He drew himself to his full height at that. _He grew in the last five months_, thought Holly idly. "But I, Artemis Fowl, am not most people."

Holly smiled wryly. "I know." Then, turning slightly to Butler to make him feel included, said, "Come on. You have _got_ to see this place." She turned and started walking briskly down the street, towards Frond's Vegetarium. She was, in all appearances, upbeat and light. However, it was an act; she felt a pre-mission anxiety, and knew where it stemmed from. She needed to let Butler know to abort the original plan - otherwise things would get very awkward, very quickly.

**Frond's Vegetarium, Haven City, the Lower Elements; Now**

Frond's Vegetarium was founded nearly three thousand years ago by one of King Frond's descendants. It was a place to enjoy the best vegetarian dishes in the Lower Elements, and used the freshest vegetables from the surface and underground magma-heated groves, though in recent years had started including fish in its dishes. As such, it was a very expensive place to eat, but Artemis - despite Holly's protests - had volunteered to cover for all three of them.

Holly spoke to the gnome at the entrance. "Table for three, please."

The gnome had to crane his head back to see the top of Butler's head. "I assume that'll be outside, ma'am?"

Holly grinned rather ruefully and rubbed the back of her head. "Yeah, I guess."

The gnome, still in awe of Butler's massive bulk, led the group around the corner. "Right this way, please." He led them to an enormous table meant for large groups of fairies (but would be just enough to accommodate Butler and Artemis), ordering a group of elves to bring out a cushion large enough for Butler to sit on. After seeing everyone settled, he left to give them a chance to decide what to order.

Artemis shook his head in amusement when the elves came back with a giant purple cushion that would not look out of place at the Taj Mahal, and let out a low chuckle at the sight of Butler attempting to make himself comfortable on it. He graciously accepted a menu from one of the servers, flipping through the pages of very exotic-sounding vegetarian dishes.

While his eyes were down and he was distracted by the menu in front of him, though, Holly suddenly grew serious and locked eyes with Butler. She kept speaking, aimlessly talking about LEP news and Foaly's new improvements to the police mainframe, but she slowly and clearly started blinking in a clear pattern. Butler grew increasingly uneasy as he recognized it as Morse code.

_Blink. Close...Close. Blink. Blink. Blink...Close. Close. Close…_

_A...B...O..._

Butler's eyes narrowed slightly as he watched her, then suddenly widened.

_Damn it!_ he thought, mentally kicking himself. _Abort! She wants to abort the plan! The one time I slip in my professionalism, the situation actually _does _change!_

He nodded slightly, and Holly felt a tremendous relief.

"I think I'll have the Elvish Classic."

They both jumped slightly, having forgot about Artemis.

Holly recovered first. "Eh, sure. Yeah. Elvish Classic. Pretty good, but - y'know - being an elf, I've had it plenty of times. Frond's makes the best one, but in the end it tastes basically the same everywhere."

Artemis noticed the hesitation, but, uncertain emotions turning in the pit of his stomach, decided to let it pass. "Of course."

Butler also recovered - though slightly disappointed nothing was going to happen between two of his closest friends - and skimmed through the local dishes. Trained as a Cordon Bleu chef as part of his regiment under Madame Ko and therefore familiar with many human salads, he decided to see if he could pick up some ideas or pointers from the fairy courses. One such course caught his eye - the Oki Insalata Spectaculaire. It was advertised as a blend of Japanese, Italian, and French - _Fitting_, he thought - and was seasoned with the restaurant's own dressing.

He turned to the nearest server and said, "I'll take the Oki Insalata Spectaculaire," each word in the dish's name spoken with a flawless accent. He paused, and added, "Quadruple serving." This earned a chuckle from Artemis, knowing how his bodyguard's bulk and lifestyle resulted in a fast metabolism.

Holly, for her part, had trouble deciding. She had been to Frond's Vegetarium three times before with Lili Frond (as a direct descendant of King Frond himself, Lili and her guests were allowed to eat free of charge), and each time had something so delicious it was almost heartbreaking. In the end, unable to make up her mind, she told the server to surprise her.

While they waited for their meal, Holly spoke animatedly about the LEP. Trouble Kelp, having replaced Ark Sool as commander during the adventure in Limbo, was following Root's lead of including more females in Recon and Retrieval. Of course, as Root was with Holly, Trouble was very hard on them. Holly's eyes misted over slightly as she remembered Root's undying support for her and her work, telling her she had to be the best she could be - and better - in order to prove females had a place in the male-dominated Recon. A moment of silence passed after she finished, as remembrance for a great commanding officer, a great leader, and a great friend.

At this point, their meals arrived. Holly tried and failed to stifle a laugh at Butler's massive plate, especially when brought in comparison to Artemis's and her own. It was a very comic sight, and even Butler took time to be amused.

Artemis took this time to complain about Jerbal Argon and what he determined to be archaic or otherwise useless methods of psychological treatment. He described how he spent his free time (of which he had a lot) discovering new hobbies, including pencil drawing and playing the flute - both of which he had already mastered. He described his designs for an exoskeleton and a new type of interstellar spacecraft (to this, Butler and Holly simply nodded politely and said "I see" where it seemed appropriate).

Butler, on the other hand, used this time to listen. In truth, he did not have much news; he had spent the past few months in Haven, watching over his charge for Angeline. His free time was generally spent cleaning his gun or pumping iron, and besides that he was trained to observe quietly.

And observe he did. Despite Holly's and Artemis's seemingly open attitudes, he sensed an underlying tension that neither person noticed and/or wanted to address. They spoke animatedly and precisely respectively, but neither could hold the other's gaze for more than a few seconds. He knew what it was caused by - anyone other than these two could - but he decided to follow his instincts and leave it be. Something told him it would be resolved in due time, and as a professional soldier he had learned over the years to trust his instincts.

Right now, though, his instincts told him something was amiss. Holly was becoming increasingly agitated, looking at her watch with increasing frequency. Evidently Artemis hadn't noticed it, as he was engrossed in a very detailed and technical description of a type of meditation he had designed himself. Butler wasn't focusing on that right now, but he did manage to hear something about "personalities" and "perfect pitch".

As everyone finished their meals and the servers whisked away their empty plates, Artemis asked the gnome that had shown them to their table about payment. Somehow, he had forgotten that the People dealt primarily in actual gold ingots instead of credit or a similar system, and asking Holly to cover would have been incredibly awkward and embarrassing. Thankfully, though, due to the need of human currency for practical purposes, the restaurant was willing to accept Irish pounds - at an increased rate, of course, but that was a price Artemis was willing to pay.

As Artemis completed the transaction, though, and stood up to leave, Holly felt a wave of panic.

_Where is he? I need him to come or this tension between us will remain-_

Then something exploded.


	6. Chapter 6: Plan B

**CHAPTER 6**

_**PLAN B**_

**Frond's Vegetarium, Haven City, the Lower Elements; Now**

"_Let me get this straight," began Foaly, rubbing his forehead. "You want me to release a B'wa Kell member. _Release _a B'wa Kell member? Don't you think that's a bit extreme to ensure your friendship with Arty-boy?"_

_Holly shrugged, a little uncomfortable. But only a little. "It won't be that bad! I know you can bypass the LEP's systems, and I just need him to create a little havoc…"_

_Foaly shook his head. "Oh, I know I can bypass the LEP's systems. I wrote them, after all." He briefly let a smug look come over his face before becoming serious again. "But I don't like the idea of releasing a goblin triad member on the people of Haven."_

"_Awww, come on. You know me - I'll have everything under control."_

_Foaly raised an eyebrow. "You also have a knack of doing the exact opposite of what it says in the rulebooks."_

_Holly rolled her eyes. "But technically there aren't any rules against 'accidentally' unlocking a prisoner's cell and chasing him down later. Come on - for me?" She tried a puppy-eye look. It failed spectacularly._

_Foaly let out a sigh that sounded more like a snort. "Alright, fine. The look didn't work, but I'll do it or you. But you owe me."_

_Holly rubbed her hands. "Thanks. I'll get you five cartons of carrots."_

"_Seven."_

"_Six from the surface."_

"_Hmmm…Ireland?"_

"_The Fowl gardens. No chemicals - the best and the freshest in the world."_

"_Alright, deal."_

"_Great. Drive him towards Frond's Vegetarium in...two hours."_

_Holly rubbed her hands again. Despite what she had told Foaly about trying to make the upcoming encounter less awkward, she was also bored out of her mind. A little action once in a while wouldn't hurt._

That was before Holly almost got hit in the head with a chair.

As always, Butler was first to react, flipping the table to form a makeshift barrier.

"D'arvit," he growled, borrowing from the fairy lexicon. "Where did a _goblin_ spring up from?"

He reached for his handgun, but stopped when Holly yelled, "_No!_"

Both eyebrows raised in a rare moment of expression, Butler just stared at her before she said, "Fairy law. Why do you think none of our weapons are designed to be fatal?"

In bewilderment (and a little exasperation), Butler released his grip on the Sig Sauer. Ensuring Artemis was safely behind cover, he peeked over the overturned table, forming a situation report in his mind.

"Single attacker. Angry. Twelve at seventy-five. He's a big one." he reported, before turning to Holly to formulate a plan. A fireball hit the tabletop, and Holly could feel the resulting vibration in her teeth.

"You take the buzz baton," Butler started, handing the weapon over. "I'll draw his fire since it's hard to ignore someone of my size. I'll be going this way-" He indicated a route from behind the table that would take him directly perpendicular to the goblin's vantage point. "-before circling around to there." He pointed to a clump of rocks that would provide him cover from the goblin's fireballs. "When I get there, you get in behind him and zap him. Got it?"

Holly nodded, but Artemis frowned. "What should I do?"

Butler just put a massive hand on his shoulder. "You don't need to do anything. We can handle it."

Artemis's frown deepened. "I don't like it", he said, rubbing his eyes. "I don't like sitting idly while you two risk yourselves once again."

Holly punched him in the shoulder, all romantic uneasiness replaced by the camaraderie and mission thrill that had become so strong with their many adventures. "Cheer up, Arty," she said, eyes glinting. "You can risk yourself for me next time."

Artemis snorted at that, a very un-Artemis thing to do, but nevertheless he sat down in cooperation.

Butler peeked around the right side of the table, and nearly got his eyebrows seared off by the fireball sent his way.

"He's much closer now," he reported, eyes hardening. "Fifty meters, tops. Stepping off in five." He counted five seconds, then took off like an Olympic sprinter, making for the end of the straight part of his projected path.

He had dealt with goblins before, and knew that they had the smallest brains of any of the eight fairy families. The goblin would likely aim for where Butler was at any moment, but the combined effects of the fifty-plus meters of distance, Butler's trajectory, and the fireballs' relatively slow speed meant that all of his shots would land behind Butler. On the other hand, if Butler were to stop at any moment he would be a sitting duck.

Best not to stop, then, he thought, as he sharply kicked off his right foot and began his circular approach to the cluster of rocks.

Holly watched as Butler reached the halfway point of his arc before vaulting over the table and sprinting towards the goblin.

A fifty meter dash, she thought. It's almost nothing.

In her right hand she twirled the buzz baton expertly, setting it on its medium setting - not enough to cause too much damage, but enough to get through a goblin's scales.

She was halfway to their assailant already, and would be on top of him in less than two seconds. She felt the effects of adrenaline in her system, bringing her the enhanced perception that she loved and lived for.

Then everything went wrong.

In a feat of awareness, coordination, and timing unheard of in most of the rest of his species, the goblin hesitated, having heard the crackling of a buzz baton. As Holly leapt forward for the extra speed that would close the gap faster, he leaned forward and caught her in the head with his left foot, spinning around. As such, the buzz baton merely brushed him - though enough to daze him for several seconds, it was not enough to take him out of action. He shook his head doggedly, then growled as he conjured fire in his left hand. He wondered how a pretty LEP captain would look with a charred face.

* * *

Artemis watched Holly vault over the table, and pressed his eye to a crack in the bottom. He watched her eat up the distance between her and the goblin, and saw her leap to plant the buzz baton firmly into the goblin's torso. He felt a whisper of anticipation and a swell of pride as she did so, admiring once again the grace his best friend had under pressure.

Then everything went wrong.

The goblin somehow managed to anticipate the buzz baton, and he had reacted, catching Holly in the left side of her head. Even from this distance, Artemis winced, before he realized that the goblin was following up on his advantage, going in for a kill.

Artemis felt a trickle of ice slide down his spine as he weighed his options.

_Butler is too far to be of assistance without violating fairy policies. He is under Haven law and therefore is unable to open lethal fire._

He looked back. _The restaurant's servers and patrons have fled the scene. They likely have called authorities, but are otherwise unhelpful in the current situation._

He took a deep breath. _That leaves me. What can I do? I have brains, I can think, I can-_

Suddenly he smiled. He _did_ have a plan.

* * *

The goblin approached the still-unconscious LEP captain. He recognized her as Holly Short, the most hated officer to the B'wa Kell, second only to Julius Root. He felt a flame of triumph as he approached her. Root was dead, thanks to Opal Koboi, but now this goblin had a chance to kill the next-best thing.

The goblin snarled as he took the last step his target, preparing to fire a fireball down the captain's throat. He paused for a second, savoring the moment, before bringing his arm down to deliver the final blow.

Then all hell broke loose.

* * *

Butler watched in horror as the plan failed and Holly was thrown to the side. He sprinted out of cover in an attempt to save her, but knew that she would be dead before he got there.

Then Artemis stepped out from behind the table.

It was such a shocking sight; Artemis, who, despite multiple near-death experiences, was unable to hit the broad side of a barn with anything requiring a level of accuracy, was staring at the goblin with a furious light in his eyes. The goblin saw it too, for he hesitated for a split second - just enough time for Artemis to throw back his head and howl.

* * *

Artemis stepped out from behind the table. He locked eyes with the goblin, putting all his fury and all his anger into one gaze. The goblin hesitated, feeling a worm of uncertainty work its way into his brain.

Artemis took the moment. He took a deep breath, then howled.

It was the howl from the gorilla cage. A more refined version of the gift of tongues, it required but the fewest of sparks for it to work, and Artemis had just enough magic remaining in his system. He threw everything he had into it - lions, apes, wolves, and eagles. They were all in there. The howl was punctuated by the staccato chatter of monkeys and the hiss of a thousands snakes.

The goblin instinctively stepped back, terrified, and lost all of its higher thinking capability (of which he had very little). The primal part of his brain - which was particularly large, compared to other sentient species - interpreted the message as fear and pain. His skin crawled, and every instinct called for him to run and hide.

And run he did - right into the waiting arms of Butler.

* * *

Butler's eyes grew wide and his heart started pounding faster. The noise coming out of his charge's mouth was so animal - so _terrifying_ - that it took all his years of training to overcome the staggering instinct to run.

He fought the fear overtaking his mind, realizing that the goblin would take the most direct path away from the noise - right towards him.

He opened his arms, and not too soon.

The goblin ran straight into Butler's muscled torso, as the latter closed his arms in a massive bear hug. With one arm he restrained the struggling goblin, and with the other he picked up Holly's discarded buzz baton, delivering a shock straight to the chest. Unconsciousness was immediate.

Butler sank to his knees. Somehow, Artemis had managed to take more out of him in ten seconds than he did with his three-year absence in Limbo - and that was saying something. He turned exhaustedly as he heard sirens approaching, allowing the LEP to apprehend the goblin. He then noticed Artemis kneeling by Holly's side. He took two steps towards them, then, seeing them together, smiled and walked towards the waiting police.

* * *

Artemis stopped howling as soon as the goblin was in Butler's arms. He sprinted to Holly's side, fear taking place where calm should be.

He slid the last three feet on his knees, calm demeanor completely shattered as he put his hands on either side of Holly's face.

"Holly," he said, voice urgent. "Wake up. Speak to me."

He was struck by a sudden notion.

_This is like the gorilla cage all over again._

He fought the rising panic inside, knowing that he had to remain calm for Holly's sake.

He put his ear on her chest, feeling and hearing the steady but faint breaths. He then put two fingers on her neck and two on her wrist, and was relieved to feel a strong pulse. He let out the breath he hadn't realized he was holding, and closed his eyes, suddenly exhausted.

"Hey."

Artemis's eyes shot open again. Holly was still lying on her back, smiling weakly. "You saved me. Thank you." Once again, Artemis was reminded of the gorilla cage.

Artemis smiled in return - a genuine, relieved smile few had ever seen before. "Of course I saved you."

And then, on impulse, he leaned down, kissed her, then whispered, "You couldn't do without me."


	7. Epilogue

_**EPILOGUE**_

**Basement, J. Argon Institute, Haven City, the Lower Elements; Six days later**

Holly walked down the hallway, a little unsteady on her feet. She leaned on the crutch she was given, though it had taken lots of persuasion and a massive nausea episode for her to swallow her pride and accept it.

It had been six days since the day at Frond's. Six days since her concussion, and six days since she had seen Artemis. She remembered the kiss and how it had set her heart on overdrive, almost making her tremble by how much it fluttered. She expected there to be severe repercussions, or an underlying tension between them, but they had kissed in front of an LEP response team and so far nobody had made comment.

She felt butterflies in her stomach at the memory.

_Artemis put all of the passion he hadn't realized he possessed into it. Holly inhaled sharply as a fire lit underneath her own lips. She willed the moment to last forever - to allow the two of them to remain like this for the rest of eternity. She felt the week's uncertainties melt away as she focused on what - on who - was in front of her - the boy who kidnapped for ransom - who became a friend - who became this._

_And then, when he pulled away and whispered, "_You couldn't do without me_," she felt her heart stop. Those were the words she had said in the gorilla cage, when Artemis was lying mortally wounded and she had healed him again. Then, those words were the result of teenage hormones and exaggerated feelings. Now, they were sincere._

Unfortunately, her concussion had separated the two of them for the last six days, as Dr. Argon had had her cooped up at all times.

_Besides_, she reasoned wryly, _the longer Artemis and I stay here, the better business he has._

At any rate, the brain was a delicate instrument, and was the one organ where many warlocks never used magic, for fear of permanently damaging it. Her demon friend No1 might have been able to heal her immediately with a snap of his fingers, but he was in Atlantis at the time.

As a result, Holly was admitted to Dr. Argon's Institute. Normally she would have been sent to an LEP hospital as a member of the force, but Artemis had insisted she be treated here and even paid in full - in advance! She was touched by his concern for her when she heard about it, but so far was unable to thank him properly.

So when Holly, daydreaming about these newly treasured memories and hoping to see the human genius again, hobbled into the incubation room on the clinic's basement floor, she thought she was hallucinating.

There sat Artemis, tapping his fingers on the glass of Nopal's incubator. At first she thought he was teasing her - _mocking_ her as one would with an animal - but then reasoned that Artemis Fowl never did anything without incentive or justification.

Holly hobbled over next to him.

Artemis looked up at the sound of her crutch hitting the polished floor and smiled.

"How are you?"

She smiled wearily back.

"Just fine."

Artemis guided her to a chair, and rested a hand on hers. Holly noticed he didn't remove it, and found she was quite happy with that arrangement.

After a long, comfortable silence, though, with both people thinking about the previous week's events, Holly decided to voice what they were both wondering.

"So, what now?"

Artemis chewed on his lip thoughtfully. He felt lighter than he had felt in months, but something held him back. "Not yet."

Holly thought about it for a while, and then, surprising herself, smiled and said, "I agree."

A week ago, she was mad beside herself trying to figure out Artemis's feelings. But now that she knew what he felt - now that she knew he felt what she felt - she was content to wait for a better time to fully commit. The time would come; she knew it. It could be a week, a month, or a year, but it would come. She settled in her chair, leaning her head on his shoulder. He went to reciprocate, resting his head on hers. They sat there for a while, drinking in each other's presence.

Of course, this being Artemis Fowl, he had to ruin it. Little did Holly know, Artemis had returned to the void of his mind, bringing the news to the other parts of his brain. He had greeted Simetra (who, of course, already knew) and thanked him for his advice, but that was not who he was looking for.

The memory of this venture brought an insidious smile to his face, and he started laughing softly.

Holly lifted her head of his shoulder and looked at him with a puzzled look on her face. "What's so funny?" she asked.

Artemis laughed for another ten seconds or so, shaking his head. He knew Holly wasn't going to like this, but he had to get the last word - even if they weren't arguing.

He turned, and looked her in the eye. Holly didn't like the malicious glint she saw.

"Orion is very pleased."


	8. Author's notes

**AUTHOR'S NOTES**

Hello. This is my first fanfiction (ever), and I thank you for taking the time to read it. It certainly was fun to write.

A little bit of background information. When I finished _The Last Guardian_ two years ago, I felt...incomplete. In terms of the overall story, _The Last Guardian_ was, in fact, an excellent ending to a spectacular series. However, there was one thing left unresolved: the Artemis/Holly romance.

Now some may say that me saying the romance was unresolved makes me a shipper (and, by definition, it does). But hear me out; from _The Arctic Incident_ onwards, we saw Artemis as a teenage boy struggling with hormones - something that anyone can identify with. This was strengthened in _The Lost Colony_, where Artemis himself recognizes the ill-timed infatuations that strike him from time to time. However, it was in _The Time Paradox_, when Holly kissed Artemis, that the romantic side of the series became truly interesting.

In _The Atlantis Complex_, the romance was revisited in a somewhat unusual light, where Orion played the part of Artemis without guilt. Orion's carefree attitude and constant declarations of love to Holly indicated a very strong affection from Artemis, and as we know teenage Holly _did_ have feelings for him.

Unfortunately, _The Last Guardian_ left these tensions unresolved, apart from a single paragraph ("Artemis looked at Holly then and felt a tremendous affection for her. He wished that he could loop the past ten seconds and study it at a less stressful time so he could properly appreciate how fierce and beautiful his best friend was. Holly never seemed so vital as when she was balancing on the fine line between life and death. Her eyes shone and her wit was sharp. Whereas others would fall apart or withdraw, Holly attacked the situation with a vigor that made her glow. She is truly magical, thought Artemis. Perhaps her qualities are more obvious to me now that I have decided to sacrifice myself."). Even so, this could be interpreted as simply someone admiring a very close friend.

But I digress. The point of this story was to resolve the romantic tensions between Artemis and Holly. I never found what happened in between them to be truly satisfying, so I wrote my own story to fill in the blanks. Set between the seventh and eighth books, there are references from all over the _Artemis Fowl_ canon, including one or two things that happen in _The Last Guardian_. I created a few characters to fit my needs, but they are mainly one-offs that hold little influence in the overall story.

To do this, I had the entirety of the _Artemis Fowl_ series on my laptop. My intention was to copy Eoin Colfer's style to make the story feel integrated, and I personally believe I have it nailed to a 70-80% accuracy. I've even copied the formatting from the seventh and eighth books, but does not allow it. If you would like to see the story in its original format, let me know.

**DISCLAIMER:** I do not own _Artemis Fowl_, its plot, or its characters in any way. They are the work of Eoin Colfer. I only own this story, this story's plot, and a handful of characters based on the world created by Eoin Colfer.

Also, I know the guidelines say not to include author notes, but I didn't want to include them in the actual story text, lest it interrupt the flow. If the admins want me to remove this, I will, but for now it will stay where it is.

**September 6 update:**

So it has been a week since I finished Dull Moments (which _still_ needs a better title). I didn't really want to leave it quite yet, so I decided to read it again.

Am I glad I did.

In my rush to get this story off of my chest and into cyberspace (combined with my natural lackadaisical nature and the fact that it was midnight when I finished it), I completely forgot to revise and edit the story. As I write this, I have just finished going through Chapter 1, changing a few words and fixing a minor problem where ate some of my text. I've also decided to include notes for each individual chapter, just explaining my word choice or pointing out allusions that you may or may not have noticed. In any case, thank you once again for reading, and I look forward to writing more about Artemis Fowl.

**September 24 update:**

Wow, I started work on this a _month_ ago?

I sent my original draft to a friend to read, and she returned it saying there were a few typos. That really disturbed me, because I like to leave my projects as perfectly done as possible. The fact that I made some typos meant I _ha__d_ to come back and look for them. As I write this, though, I haven't found them yet.

And here's why.

I realized that some parts of the story are a little unrefined and rough around the edges. I've been spending the last five, ten minutes rewriting some parts of chapter 1 (nothing major; just a line there, a phrase there), trying to make it flow better. Eventually I'll get to the other chapters, but that'll be after I finish my school project.

Anyway, if you're new to my work (_I'm_ new to my work; I only started writing like this a month ago), please check out my other pieces. As of right now there is only one other major piece (in progress) and one short story (a little cheesy). But, whatever. FanFiction's slogan is "Unleash your imagination", and I plan on doing just that.


	9. Chapter notes

**Chapter notes:**

**Chapter 1:**

"**Room 16**..."  
I wanted to be as specific as possible, so I couldn't have just made the location "**Artemis's Room**". How did I get the number 16, then? Well, it's just Artemis's initials - the numeric values of A and F are 1 and 6, and together they make 16.

"...legs folded up in the lotus position as Butler had once taught him."  
_The Eternity Code_ mentions that Artemis meditates in the lotus position, so all I added was that Butler taught him it.

"...completed with a ridiculously ornate bookshelf..."  
_The Last Guardian_ mentions that Argon "had a taste for the grandiose", so I expanded on that.

"...he was vaguely aware of colors"..."  
I literally looked up "colors of horror", "colors of despair", etc. to use. Of course, when I started revealing that the colors were meant to represent Holly they changed from emotional representations to physical representations.

"Absurd, thought Artemis..."  
Eoin Colfer has a slightly strange way (in my opinion) of representing thoughts. Sometimes they're straight words, for when a character is simply thinking, and sometimes they're italicized for when a character is talking to him/herself. A lot of the time these two are hard to distinguish from each other, and that made representing thoughts much more difficult.

"Holly Short looked into the face of her archenemy."  
The first two segments of the story were meant to be similar to the opening of _The Last Guardian_, where Artemis is frustrated with something and Holly is with Nopal.

"'I don't see why you even bother.'"  
I wanted to explain how Nopal got her name. This seemed like the best way to do so, because in _The Last Guardian_ the techies reportedly stayed away from the clone, it would have been difficult for Holly to have heard the "Nopal" idea, unless she was there when it was formed.

"Somewhere, he imagined a fanfare, gloriously adding a soundtrack to his emotional adventure."  
I used the line from the first book: "Artemis imagined that somewhere the _1812 Overture_ was playing."

"...sound of tinkling bells..."  
Somewhere (I can't remember if it was a canon thing or a fanon thing) someone described Holly's laughter as analogous to tinkling bells.

"...the soft aroma of grass and citrus..."  
_The Last Guardian_ reveals that elves have signature odors, and that Holly's is grass and citrus. Here I wanted to reference it, but keep it so that Artemis would not make the connection until he is about to sacrifice himself.

"...he once could not crack himself..."  
A reference to _The Arctic Incident_, when Foaly was locked in his Ops Booth by Opal.

**Chapter 2:**

"Anything more than simple professionalism was frowned upon, and emotional outbursts were seen as a display of weakness."  
Technically not true, since Angeline and Artemis Senior were very affectionate towards each other, but whatever.

"Foaly was on the ground with his hands on his side, legs kicking in a gallop while he gasped for breath."  
An exact wording from Chapter 1. It was used in the books, where Colfer says that something might happen, then goes ahead and say it did happen, using the exact wording.

"...and then: _I could have given Julius a run for his money_."  
Colfer also uses a lot of "and then" as a sort of random insert of dry humor. Halfway through writing this chapter I realized I hadn't included it at all, so I specifically looked for a place where I could.

"...and it literally ended in a bang."  
_NOT_ a sexual innuendo. This is a reference to the end of _The Atlantis Complex_, when Turnball and Leonor die together in an explosion.

"In fact, you've been basically stuffed in a pickle jar, locked in a barrel, and set afloat in the Atlantic."  
Centaurs are not known for their analogies.

"'...what if we were to get Butler in on this?'"  
In _The Artemis Fowl Files_, Butler gives an interview. One of the questions is "What is your favorite book?" and Butler answers with "I do enjoy a good romance story." He also mentions how his preferred film genre is romcom.

**Chapter 3:**

"**Apartment 819, Haven Housing, Southeastern Residential District**..."  
As I did with Artemis's room in the clinic, I just took the numeric values of Holly's initials (8 and 19) and mashed them together. Also, in the original draft I wrote it as the West District, because "Southeastern Residential District" was too long to fit the width of the page. I just remembered that has a much wider page, so I made back into "Southeastern Residential District".

"'..._a complicated love problem that would have made Chix Verbil asexual...'  
_Nobody likes Chix Verbil.

"_Wow, this is so much better than _The Notebook_._"  
Poking fun at a military-trained, Eurasian giant is a lot of fun.

"...which she had let grow into a pageboy..."  
Holly had already let her hair grow into a fringe by _The Atlantis Complex_, and I wanted her to grow her hair out a little more. I went to Wikipedia for this (shut up :P), and decided that a pageboy would be best for her, especially if you can imagine her with less pronounced bangs and slightly wilder hair.

**Chapter 4:**

"**Room 42**..."  
Yep, you guessed it; "Domovoi Butler" becomes "42".

"...had a taste for the grandiose."  
As I said before, I like referencing the source material. This includes taking lines from other books.

"He didn't like it."  
A reference to _The Arctic Incident_, when Julius Root is stuck on the wall of the chute without a piton cord.

"He once brought three rifles to a stakeout..."  
A reference to FPSRussia's UTS-15 video, where his first two shotguns malfunctioned in-video.

"'However, feel free to declare her late in five minutes.'"  
A reference to _A Christmas Incident_ (an _AF_ fanfiction written by Annie-morphs), which is one of my favorite _AF_ fanfictions of all time, despite its portrayal of the characters (you will _never_ see Julius Root smiling, vacationing, or doing anything of the sort) and somewhat cheesy scenes. I dunno - despite my typical male interests in shooter games, shooter movies, and guns in general, I'm somewhat of a hopeless romantic.

"_My brain is wired for G2..."  
_Probably not scientifically correct. As a brass player, I know that band and strings instruments naturally produce a series of overtones (in fact, rock and metal guitarists use this concept to make pinch harmonics), but I was not certain about vocalists. In retrospect, it makes sense that vocalists also produce overtones, but whatever. In addition, I'm not sure brains _can_ be wired for a certain pitch (let alone activated by a certain frequency). I just wanted to have a _Legend of Korra_-esque scene where Artemis is talking to his mirror image and realizing a certain truth.  
**Update October 8, 2014:  
**You can _totally_ produce audible overtones with your voice! Yesterday, I saw a video (link 1 below) of a woman who had insane control over her voice. She kept her fundamental note constant, and had amazing control and response with the harmonics (also known as the overtone scale). I recommend you check it out; it's really something.

"...memories were seen as disembodied replays..."  
This is a scene from one of the Generation IV _Pokémon_ movies. I want to say _Giratina and the Sky Warrior_, but I can't quite remember. The rest of this scene is partially based on that, and partially based on the original _Assassin's Creed_ animus scenes when you assassinate someone and click a button to activate the alternate scene.

"Simetra gave a vampire smile..."  
Simetra (which, by the way is simply "Artemis" backwards) was designed as Artemis' (grammar note: if an object or somebody's name ends with "s", I like to leave the apostrophe as it is in this sentence; however, Colfer likes to add another "s" after the apostrophe, so of course I copied that) foundation, which is why he is so like Artemis from the first book.

"'He generally stays close to the memories of the romance novels you have read and written.'"  
Artemis has apparently written romance novels under the pseudonym "Violet Tsirblou" ("violets are blue").

**Chapter 5:**

"Frond's Vegetarium..."  
It sounds like the name of a diner, but it's actually meant to be a proper restaurant.

"...Oki Insalata Spectaculaire..."  
This literally means "large, spectacular salad". I had trouble translating "large" into Japanese because I was uncertain of Japanese rules, but translating into Italian and French was no problem because they're both alphabet-based languages.

"...including pencil drawing and playing the flute..."  
Once again I'm taking from _A Christmas Incident_, where Artemis draws a perfect, lifelike rendition of Holly. The flute playing I threw in because I always wanted to learn to play the flute, but never had the time with all the bands where I played trombone or euphonium.

"...an exoskeleton and a new type of interstellar spacecraft..."  
Now I know a lot of the references I pointed out in these notes could be considered somewhat obvious, but this spacecraft one is less so. If you were to decode the Gnommish message in _The Last Guardian_, you would find it to be Artemis' will. In it, he gives Foaly designs for a spacecraft "so advanced, it makes his spacecraft look like hot air balloons." The exoskeleton part I threw in because I was watching a _Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare_ trailer at the time.

"...and as a professional soldier..."  
Technically Holly's also a soldier, but I had to let that slide to make the plot work.

**Chapter 6:**

"...the Sig Sauer."  
As I said before, I'm a bit of a gun nerd. Not in the political and ethical uses - oh, no. I'd rather die than deal with those. I'm more interested in the practical uses by military, law enforcement, and civilian, and the physical workings of guns. Anyway, back to the Sig. When I first read the series, Colfer made it sound like the 9mm round was the most powerful handgun round in the world. Of course, that's completely false; there's 10mm, .40 S&W, .45 ACP, .45 GAP, the Magnum series, .50 AE - you get the idea. For those wondering what Butler carries, I believe it to be a Sig P226 or something in that series. The caliber matches, the magazine capacity matches (I think it does; I seem to remember the gun having thirteen rounds, but I can't quite remember where), and the style of gun matches. With the P226 family so famous as it is (the P228 is the standard sidearm for the US Navy SEALs), and with the P228 a compact (and therefore more easily hidden pistol) variant with high capacity, it makes sense for Butler to select it. It is military-proved, civilian-legal (although this is Artemis Fowl and Butler we are talking about), and reliable. Anyway, it's just a theory, but it makes me feel at ease.

"'Twelve at seventy-five.'"  
I didn't explain this in the story - at least not very well. What Butler is saying is that the target is located at 12 o'clock, at 75 meters.

"'Stepping off in five.'"  
Not sure if that's a real military phrase, but it's used in _XCOM: Enemy Unknown_, so whatever.

"...fear taking place where calm should be."  
A reference to _The Guru _from _Avatar: The Last Airbender_, when Guru Pathik is talking with Appa.

**Epilogue:**

"...she knew he felt what she felt."  
Say that five times very quickly.

"It could be a week, a month, or a year, but it would come."  
This means you know I'll be continuing this semi-canon writing - stay tuned (or is that only for TV...?)!

"He went to reciprocate, resting his head on hers."  
A lot of their actions were based on what I remember doing with my girlfriend. We ended breaking up on not-so-good terms after four years, but I have no problem in using our actions as examples.

Phew, that's it. I've spent the last two, three hours revising and editing my story and copying lines I felt like had enough backstory or required explanations. I know for the two of you who are following and the three who have favorited this story (by the way, thank you _very_ much - it honestly means a lot) will probably be somewhat disappointed by this latest addition since it has no relation to plot, but I feel like it is necessary. Besides, the alternative is actually _working_. Anyway, this is likely the last time I will be visiting this story, although I will do a similar process for each one of my pieces. If you've gotten this far, thanks for taking the time to read this. It's been a blast writing, rewriting, and revisiting this piece, and I look forward to doing more.

* * *

**Other links:**

Link 1 (voice control) (polyphonic overtone singing - Anna-Maria Hefele):  
watch?v=vC9Qh709gas


End file.
